ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1478 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1478 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 28 Feb 1999 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if the masculine name was used in Germany between 1350 and 1450. You also asked for suggestion on a German surname to match this period. Here is the information we have found. is a fine German name; we found this spelling in 1359 and 1389. [2] One of the best, and most easily available, sources on German surnames is the _Dictionary of German Names_, by Hans Bahlow, and translated by Edda Gentry. [1] There are four general types of surnames: (1) patronymic, (2) locative, (3) descriptive, and (4) occupational. A patronymic surname is a surname indicating who your father was, e.g. , whose father was named [3]. A locative surname is one identifying where a person lived, e.g. , from the town of [3]. A descriptive surname is simply that: one that describes a characteristic of the person, e.g. "Stephan the clever." [1] Some descriptive nicknames were quite indirect, like , "drink up," which we find in 1388. [1] Lastly, occupational surnames are those identifying your occupation, e.g. , "Stephan the Smith." [1] If you would like information or suggestions on any of these types of surnames, please write again and we'd be happy to help you. We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Walraven van Nijmegen, Arval Benicoeur, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, --Arianwy ferch Cadfael February 28, 1999 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Bahlow, Hans, _Dictionary of German Names_, tr. Edda Gentry (German-American Cultural Society, 1994 ISBN: 0924119357). s.nn. Klug(e), Drinkuth [2] Talan Gwynek, "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1998) [URL:http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/bahlow_v.htm]. [3] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Worterbuch der deutschen familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960). s.n. Albrecht